


Spider Spandex

by sadbabyosborn (arka_r)



Series: Siblings AU [3]
Category: Ultimate Spider-Man (Cartoon)
Genre: Agender Character, Alternate Universe - Siblings, Aromantic Character, Asexual Character, Fluff, Genderfluid Character, Humor, Multi, Open Relationships, Pansexual Character, Technobabble, Trans Male Character, panromantic character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-13
Updated: 2015-03-04
Packaged: 2018-03-09 13:43:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,346
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3251963
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arka_r/pseuds/sadbabyosborn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>[REWRITTEN VER.]</p><p>Peter Parker is only fifteen when he got bit by a genetically-engineered spider and becomes Spider Man. As he struggles with his new life, he misses a few things that he probably should take notice, like his sister's weird change of behavior, or the fact that he's probably not as straight as he thinks, or the sudden increase of spiders around him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> i decided to rewrite this fic completely. this is why you shouldn't post a fic that doesn't have a solid plot yet. smh.
> 
> i don't know if i should list Louise and Erica as original characters or not since they're basically like a genderbend version of Harry and Peter themselves. Louise's characterization is from TASM!Harry while Erica's characterization is from Raimiverse!Peter.
> 
> thanks for my bae/beta, timenotfound, for being a terrible enabler. your bitter critic to Raimiverse!Spidey has never cease to amuse me.

So, it started like this.

 

Peter was already up way before the sun even rose, which was quite a feat of itself. As soon as the alarm rang, he jumped out of his bed with an exaggerated flip and ended with an ungraceful flop on the floor. He grunted and climbed up to his feet as the door to his room opened. Peter put on his thick-as-a-brick glasses and saw Erica’s head poking through, her dark brown hair a mess on the top of her head.

 

“Did you try somersaulting out of your bed, _again?_ You know that’ll never work”, she rolled her eyes.

 

“You’ll never know, dearest sister, you’ll never know”, Peter said in sing-song voice and raced to the bathroom on the second floor. He closed the door behind him but not before he heard his sister shouting ‘Hey!’ as she realized what just happened.

 

After finishing the obligatory morning ritual that included five minute shower, brushing his teeth, sighing mournfully at his acne, and attempting to tame that bird nest of a hair of his, Peter ran down the stairs with his bag in his grip and towel in his hair, partially blinded by the fog clinging to his glasses. Uncle Ben and Aunt May was already up; Uncle Ben was flipping the pancakes on the stove while Aunt May sliced the meatloaf to go with the pancakes.

 

“Someone’s up early today”, Uncle Ben teased once he saw Peter entering the kitchen.

 

“Field trip!” Peter punched the air. “Can’t miss it, can I?”

 

“School field trip to Oscorp Tower, of course you can’t miss it”, Aunt May chuckled and messed Peter’s still damp hair which made Peter shriek slightly because seriously, he was too old for that already. She ignored him and slid a plateful of pancakes and meatloaf with a few cut tomatoes and lettuce in front of him. Ooooh. “I’ll make you some sandwich for lunch. You can eat them with Louise and Mary Jane.”

 

“Fhank wu Awn May”, Peter mumbled his reply with his mouth full of the delicious goodness that was his aunt’s meatloaf.

 

“That’s Norman Osborn to you. If I’m a CEO to the leading company in medical researches and advancement, I will definitely think that my children’s high school education won’t be complete without visiting the very place where most important medical advancements in this century are created”, Uncle Ben chuckled at his own joke.

 

“Aww, but then there won’t be _Parker and Parker’s Patisserie_ and everyone will be missing out Aunt May’s legendary meatloaf”, Peter made a mock whine. “Even Uncle Norman loves your meatloaf.”

 

Peter had known Uncle Norman—a.k.a Norman Osborn, CEO to Oscorp Industries—since as far as he could remember. His aunt and uncle were friends with Uncle Norman due to some kind of fate’s meeting. Because of this, Peter and Erica were fast friends with Uncle Norman’s children, Harry and Louise Osborn, despite their age differences.

 

“That is true”, Aunt May nodded in agreement as she was preparing Peter’s sandwiches. “At least now you can _legally_ enter his lab, huh? Remember the last time you and Louise sneaked into Norman’s private lab in the penthouse?”

 

“Ugh, Aunt May, that was like a century ago”, Peter groaned.

 

“Up to this day, I still don’t know how in the world two five year olds can open a door locked with a fifteen digit passcode”, Uncle Ben said between chewing. “Oh, good morning, Erica.”

 

“Murrning”, Erica sauntered into the kitchen with her phone in one hand and her bag in another. She was still typing as she took the chair next to Uncle Ben.

 

“But seriously, I can’t wait to see it all with my own eyes. Do you know that Oscorp patented cheaper and more efficient alternative to measles and polio vaccines that can save thousands of children in developing countries?” Peter bounced his legs together.

 

“Ugh, who cares”, Erica rolled her eyes. “I’m not interested in microscopic life forms, okay.”

 

“You should be, because with the growing amount of people refusing to vaccinate their children we can be facing a serious epidemic threat in our near future”, Peter argued.

 

“Seriously, I don’t know what’s in those anti-vaxxers’ mind. Three of my classmates died of polio and I lived through the London flu epidemic. I thought the next generation won’t have to go through those horrible diseases again, but then we go backwards”, Uncle Ben grumbled.

 

“Tell me about it”, Peter took a big bite of his pancake. “I also want to see that portable medical scanner that they’re planning to sell out this year. The idea is based off Star Trek’s medical tricorder. Neat, huh? Oh, they’re also developing bionic body parts, Ric. There’s this one woman who got bionic leg after an accident took her leg and her children’s life. It’s all in the website, but I’m hoping I will know more about it at the Tower.”

 

“And let’s hope Uncle Norman will give you a bionic eye because this fork is about to go through your current one”, Erica raised her fork menacingly.

 

“Alright, kids. No threatening each other”, Aunt May chided and that was the end of their argument.

 

Peter finished his breakfast and grabbed his bag from the countertop, his lunch meal safely tucked inside the front pocket. The school bus arrived shortly and Peter hugged his aunt and uncle (and smacked his sister’s shoulder) before racing out to get into the bus.

 

Mary Jane, one of his group member who lived next door, waved at him from the middle row. Peter rushed toward her, but not ten steps later, he tripped on something and fell flat on his face. Thankfully, his glasses didn’t fall off; he didn’t need them breaking today of all days.

 

He could hear Flash Thompson laughing and taunting him, but he ignored the jerk as he scurried off to his friend’s side.

 

“He could’ve gotten hurt, Flash!” Mary Jane shouted.

 

“Well, maybe if he actually uses those four eyes he won’t fall in the first place”, Flash laughed.

 

“It’s okay, MJ”, Peter tried to calm her down as he took the seat between her. She frowned but let the topic go, and began fixing her makeup and tying her bright red hair back with a scrunchie.

 

Louise Osborn joined them not ten minutes later. The bus picked her up from the luxurious apartment block where she lived with her dad and older brother. She was wearing pale pink dress with too many ruffles and laces that would looked ridiculous on anyone else, but instead looked cute on her. Her platinum blonde hair flowed behind her back, bouncing along with her steps.

 

Peter found he couldn’t tear his eyes away, even as she plopped on the empty seat next to him. This close, he could smell her sweet, sweet perfume—faint fragrance of roses, he guessed.

 

“Excited much?” he asked, grateful that it didn’t come out as a squeak.

 

“I can’t wait to see the Tower!” she squealed excitedly. “Dad hasn’t been home for two days working something for this year’s International Cancer Day presentation but I texted him that we should eat lunch together. I hope he didn’t forget to charge his phone _again_ , but Harry said it’s still on when he miscalled it. Oh sweet mercy, you think he’ll allow us to see his new project?”

 

“And let some barbaric high schoolers destroy his few days worth of work? Doubt it”, Peter grinned at her enthusiasm and held the urge to ruffle her hair—she probably would bite his hand off if he tried.

 

Once they picked the last student, Mrs. Allison began laying ground rules and Peter couldn’t help from tapping his feet. Why was the bus so slow?

 

“You know that your incessant tapping won’t make this bus go even faster, right”, Louise said dryly without looking up from her phone.

 

“Well I know that, but—”

 

“Then cut it off before I cut it off for you”, she hissed without waiting Peter to finish his sentence.

 

“You’re not even listening”, Peter whined back, but as he leaned closer, he saw that Louise was video-recording their teacher’s instruction on her phone. Neat. “Can you send me that later?”

 

Louise smiled at him sweetly while at the same time sending him a look that promised the most painful things in the world. Like Justin Bieber’s song played in loop or Twilight series marathon.

 

Right. Never disturb the Kawaii Monster.

 

For the sake of his life, Peter scooted away from her and to Mary Jane. She was also video-recording the teacher too, though she used a camcorder rather than her phone. She glanced at him and Peter flashed her his awesomest charming smile. She rolled her eyes.

 

“I’m not lending this to you, Peter. You and Lou are the science whiz in our group. I should be riding on your science genius thing, not the other way around”, she whispered. Peter spread his arm in a silent ‘oh come on!’ gesture, but Mary Jane simply gave him a long suffering look.

 

Seriously. His group was so not cool. He also couldn’t walk in the bus since Flash had been eyeing him, no doubt planning to humiliate him in front of the class again—and that wouldn’t just do.

 

But it was all forgotten once they arrived at the Tower. Peter could’ve been bouncing on his heels because this. Was. _Awesome_. The tower was an architectural beauty. It was sleek with a lot of glass panels and exposed beams, perhaps aiming for scifi-ish (was that even a word?) look. Next to him, Louise let out an excited giggle as she looked up. Peter mirrored her and could understand why.

 

From the lobby, they could see up to the eightieth floor of the building and seriously, it screwed with Peter’s sense of architectural security because how in the world the building hadn’t collapsed into tiny little pieces yet. A gigantic globe made from metallic material with Oscorp logo was engraved on its ring was situated on the lobby. As Peter leaned closer, there were tiny dots representing each branch across the globe.

 

“My name is Dr. Rajit Ratha. I’m the head of Biochemistry Department, but today I will be your guide”, a dark skinned man greeted them. He looked young, probably in his thirty, and an Indian or Arab descent (Peter would guess the first judging by his name).

 

“Before we enter, does everyone here have their phone with him?” Dr. Ratha asked lightly. All students nodded and looked worried. “Oh, no, no. I’m not asking you to hand over your phone. Quite the opposite, I want you to hold on to your phone, because things will get a little bit interesting.”

 

A holographic figure of a woman appeared out of nowhere. There were some amazed ‘ooh’ coming from the excited high schoolers (Peter might or might not pee in his pants a little because an artificial intelligent with virtual body, now that was so _cool_ ) as the woman waved her hand.

 

“This is KARI, Kinetic Artificial Reactive Intelligence. She will help me explaining a lot of things today. First of all, you can download Oscorp App from your application store—Play Store for Android, App Store for iOS. KARI, can you show our guests the icon?” Dr. Ratha asked. With a wave of her hand, an application icon floated just above KARI’s transparent hand along with the Tower’s wi-fi password that allowed them all to connect to the internet. Peter found said application and downloaded it.

 

“This application contains additional information that will help you understand more about the subjects we will introduce to you. It’s usually used by new interns to understand their field, but I guess this will do too”, Dr. Ratha continued.

 

As Dr. Ratha said, Peter found an index about topics like molecular biology, immunology, endocrinology, hematology, genetic engineering, medical imaging physics, radiation therapeutic physics, and many more. They were way too advanced for high school material. No doubt, only a handful in his class would understand it. The information in the application were a bit incomplete, though, which Peter guessed was why it was simply additional.

 

They began the tour to the Molecular Medicine Division where Dr. Ratha and KARI were explaining about how molecular biology could be applied to medical field.

 

“For example, cancer research will benefit from molecular biology study”, Dr. Ratha waved his hand and holographic images appeared. “Can someone tell me what’s the study of tumor and cancer is called? Yes, Miss—?”

 

“Osborn. And it’s called oncology”, Louise answered as she lowered her hand.

 

“That’s not fair. Of course she knows the answer. Her dad owns this place”, one of the girls piped up.

 

“It’s common knowledge, you platypus”, Louise smiled at her. Peter snorted involuntarily at the insult but he raised his hands in placating manner before either one of them would resort to bloodshed.

 

“Very well, Miss Osborn”, Dr. Ratha continued as if there was no interruption. “And can someone tell me the difference between cancer and tumor? Yes, Mister—”

 

“Parker. Cancers are malignant tumor and they spread to other parts of the body. Not all tumors are cancerous. For example, benign tumors don’t spread to the other parts of the body”, Peter ended his answer with a slight bounce.

 

“Excellent, Mr. Parker”, Dr. Ratha smiled brightly. Peter puffed up proudly. He just got praised by a head department—it was about something so easy and should be a common knowledge, but still… Shut up.

 

Dr. Ratha guided them from lab to lab with occasional break every thirty minutes so the students could read the additional info from the apps… or that was what they were supposed to do, anyway. Most students were not that much of a science nerd and chose to play game in their phone instead. Still, Peter tried to absorb everything into his head.

 

From next to him, he heard Louise squealing gleefully.

 

“What’s up?” Peter asked her. She was fiddling with her phone doing… whatever she was doing.

 

“Dad’s password clearance is his middle name, Harry’s middle name, and my middle name, all three combined”, she explained. “This is so cool. With his clearance, I can read deeper about the subject and not only that crap Rajit has been trying to cram into our head.”

 

That piqued Peter’s interest. He searched around in the interface before he could find the user login. As expected, it required password input. “Harry’s middle name is Theopolis. I don’t know yours and your dad’s though”, he said dejectedly.

 

"Heh, nice try, Parker. As if I will tell you that”, Louise gave her a smirk, locking her own phone and looking through the glass panel. Peter mirrored her action and looking down through the glass panel—it was probably fifty floors drop to the lobby. He could feel his vertigo building.

 

“My dad built all of this”, Louise’s voice was full of wonder. “My dad told me that we Osborns used to be an old money, but it was all ended by his dad’s mistake. All of this, this company and this building… It had nothing to do with old money. My dad built all of this from scratch.”

 

“It’s the future”, Peter was amazed. “I mean, Oscorp has been working for a better future. Their researches basically built modern medical world. Not to mention that paper your dad published about enhanced antibody—we’re basically looking forward to a world without genetic disorder. So yeah, it’s only fitting that it has nothing to do with smelly old money.”

 

“You read that paper?” Louise asked. There was something in her voice that made Peter turn to her. He realized she was looking at him with odd expression on her face.

 

He blushed when he realized fully what he just said. “Erm… Yes, it’s, uh, pretty interesting”, he spluttered. “I mean, can you imagine the day where there will be no more multiple sclerosis, cystic fibrosis, haemophilia, neurofibromatosis…” he trailed off when he realized that he was rambling. “I’m rambling. You should stop me when I start rambling. You’re supposed to stop me.”

 

Louise giggled—oh wow, was she always this cute? He always saw her as that bossy dork who loved to order him around, but he never noticed that she was… pretty aesthetically pleasing. She got that tiny dimples on her cheek when she smiles and this close, Peter could see that her eyes had probably more than three shades of blue.

 

“You’re such a dork”, she shoved his shoulder playfully, before hopping to her feet and walked away.

 

“I resent that statement”, Peter fixed his glasses as he trailed behind her, just as he always did.

 

“You mean you resemble that statement”, Mary Jane piped up. She was waiting for them a few feet away. She gave Peter a knowing look that made heat creep up his cheeks—of course, as one of his oldest friends, Mary Jane could read him like an open book. That, and the fact that she was incredibly observant.

 

“When you two are done, we’re supposed to go to the cafeteria for lunch like five minutes ago”, she smirked. “So, unless you know where is the cafeteria, we’re stranded until someone’s noticing us missing. Which I doubt will happen anytime soon, because Mrs. Allison was too busy controlling the dumb-dumbs.”

 

“I don’t know where the cafeteria is, seeing that this is my first time stepping into this building despite the fact that my dad owned it”, Louise huffed. “Don’t you know where they’re going?”

 

“Well, I might or might not be a little bit too preoccupied with checking my recording”, Mary Jane folded her arms.

 

“Let’s… go look for signs”, Peter suggested before they broke into a catfight. It seemed that he played referee a lot today. “Where did we came from again?”

 

“There”, Louise and Mary Jane replied at the same time. But while Louise pointed to their left, Mary Jane pointed to their right.

 

“This is so ridiculous. Why don’t they put directional signs everywhere”, Louise threw her arms up.

 

“Let’s just walk”, it was Mary Jane’s suggestion this time. They nodded in agreement and began walking the hall.

 

Yet, the hall seemed to lead to… somewhere dark and eerie. There were no windows there and the only source of light came from neon lights that thankfully didn’t flicker like in horror/thriller movie. Yet, while it was spotless clean, there was no sign of people everywhere. The doors were closed and their lock indicator was dead and unblinking, unlike the lab doors they used to see a while back. Peter thought he could see a human model through the glass panel… or he hoped it was a human model.

 

“Shouldn’t we go back”, he whimpered, clutching Mary Jane’s shoulder tightly. He knew he looked ridiculous clinging to her like that, but he honestly didn’t care. This hall gave him goosebumps.

 

“These must be storage rooms or something. Maybe there’s elevator for janitors around”, Louise shrugged.

 

Peter was about to reply when he felt something landed on the back of his hand. It was a spider.

 

It was probably as big as a quarter and black. Peter screeched and threw his hand as hard as he could. Still screaming, he stomped his feet before it could skitter away and not stopping until he felt the little monster was adequately squashed. He stared at the smear on the marble floor, still breathing hard, then raising his hand only to find tiny red mark where it bit him.

 

It _bit_ him. “It bit me!!!!” he shrieked. “It bit me! It bit me! Oh my gosh what if it’s a venomous spider! I’m gonna dieeeeee!”

 

“Let’s calm down—” he heard Mary Jane speaking and felt her hands on his shoulders. Peter sobbed a little because oh gosh it stung. The pain pulsed under his skin. Peter couldn’t help but think about tiny little spiders running in his bloodstream.

 

“Louise? Peter?” they heard another voice, a man’s voice. The three of them turned and saw Norman Osborn standing on the hallway. Peter blinked at him—he didn’t know which was more shocking; the fact that he was holding a cracked coffee pot in one hand or that he had a yellow rubber duckie in another hand.

 

“Why are you here? I thought—I thought I heard someone screaming”, Uncle Norman walked toward the three of them.

 

“We got separated from the group so we’re looking for the cafeteria”, Louise answered. “Dad, is… that a rubber duckie.”

 

“And that would be Peter, Mr. Osborn. He got bit by a spider”, Mary Jane sighed.

 

“You must be Mary Jane Watson, the Parkers’ neighbor”, Uncle Norman slipped the rubber duckie into his lab coat’s pocket and held his hand to shake hers. Then, he turned to Peter, gently cradling Peter’s hand in his as he examined the bite mark.

 

“Please don’t tell me that it’s one of your lab rats—lab spiders? Is it venomous? Am I gonna die?” Peter could hear his own voice breaking.

 

“No, we haven’t used spiders since two years ago. Even then, we didn’t use species with higher toxicity and they all had been destroyed once the research is done”, Uncle Norman chuckled, finally letting Peter’s hand go. “Most spider bites are usually harmless and dry. That means they only pierce skin, but no venom is injected into the victim. Besides, only spiders of larger species possess _chelicera_ long enough to penetrate human skin.”

 

That… was good to hear. Peter felt a little bit better knowing that he wouldn’t die anytime soon. “But what about anaphylactic shock? Can spider bite sends me into anaphylactic shock?”

 

“I’ve read some cases about people who got allergic reaction from spider bite, so I guess that is quite possible”, Uncle Norman rubbed his chin.

 

“Knowing Peter’s long history of allergic reaction, I’d say that _is_ possible. Name one thing and he probably will get allergic reaction just by being in the same room”, Louise giggled. Mary Jane grinned and nodding in agreement.

 

“That is very true, but I guess we have to wait until the allergic reaction shows itself”, Uncle Norman gave him a long sigh. “Let’s go get ice for that. It looks inflamed already. And you said you were looking for cafeteria, no?”

 

The four of them started walking, leaving the creepy hallway behind them. The bite on Peter’s hand still itched and he held the urges from scratching it until it bled; but at least it didn’t rash like he usually did when he got allergic reaction or drop dead because of the unknown spider venom. It seemed that Uncle Norman was right, the bite was dry. Knowing this made him breathe a little bit easier.

 

“I couldn’t find my phone anywhere but I assume you left me a text? Because not fifteen minutes ago my secretary got a call from Harry that you will come today. I thought your school field trip isn’t until Friday?” Uncle Norman asked to Louise.

 

Who was giving him a hard stare. “Dad, it _is_ Friday”, she pointed out. “Have you not been sleeping? Should I send Harry to knock you dead?”

 

“Oh, apologies. I might… have miscalculated the time”, Uncle Norman cleared his throat, punching the elevator button. Peter snickered while Mary Jane looking absolutely baffled.

 

Approximately ten minutes later, Peter, Louise, and Mary Jane rejoined with the rest of their class. As it turned out, Mrs. Allison realized that three of her students went missing and went panicking. Dr. Ratha, who pitied her, asked the security personnels to look for them. As they entered the cafeteria, Mrs. Allison was one breath away from having conniption. They would be in a serious trouble, if Uncle Norman hadn’t been there. He explained to her that Peter somehow got bitten by a spider and had to be treated. Well, that was the truth, at least…

 

So, as a compensation for the trouble, Uncle Norman paid for their lunch and this brought another trouble—namely Mrs. Allison having to keep her students away from the self-refilling soda machine, because seriously that was just embarrassing. Peter was so embarrassed with his classmates’ uncivilized behavior, but neither Uncle Norman or Louise looked disturbed by this even though they were like the least rambunctious people in the world. Then, he remembered that, yeah, rich people. Louise probably could buy a truck load of soda, if not more, just by using her monthly allowance.

 

Oscorp’s cafeteria was, for lack of better description, a food heaven. Various vendors lined from door to door, including McDonald’s, Domino Pizza, Taco Bell, Starbucks—you name it. There were also a wide selection from vegan food, Indian food, ice cream bar, and even high-end cuisine like Italian food and French food. At least ten vending machines and five ice cream freezers were lining up on the walls. “To feed five thousand mouths”, as Uncle Norman said, was not an exaggeration. It probably could fit five thousand Oscorp employees and more. There were even a large amount of scientists among the rabid high schoolers, doing whatever projects they were working on.

 

“Of course, no hazardous substances are allowed in the cafeteria”, Uncle Norman explained.

 

After washing his hands and applying ice to his inflamed skin, Peter was allowed to eat his lunch. By ‘his lunch’ it meant a warm medium sized Super Supreme pizza he just ordered and ate together with Mary Jane and Louise, because Uncle Norman stole his meatloaf sandwiches to go with whatever cup of coffee he was cradling.

 

“The coffee machine in my lab broke”, he told them, sipping his coffee slowly with blissful expression on his face.

 

“Is that why you’re holding a cracked coffee pot earlier?” Louise furrowed her eyebrows. “Harry will be so mad at you if he knows that you’re not sleeping right.”

 

“Coffee is sleep in liquid form”, the older man shrugged. “Please don’t tell Harry that. And I was hoping I could find spare coffee machine in the storage room.” 

 

Peter didn’t have the heart to tell him that he probably could just buy a new coffee machine online and they would probably deliver it to his office—or, alternatively, maybe asked his secretary to buy him some Starbucks. But that was caffeine withdrawal for you. If he’d been running high on caffeine and suddenly he was cut off from his source of caffeine intake, he wouldn’t be thinking straight too.

 

Uncle Norman still refused to explain about the rubber duckie, but Peter couldn’t care less because the conversation got progressively more sciency after that.

 

They were talking about Hepatitis E Virus and how could there be no licensed HEV vaccine for use in the US, what if there was an epidemic case of Hepatitis E epidemic. Just because it was rare in developed countries like US, it didn’t mean that it couldn’t break into epidemic or even pandemic—and between the three science genii on the table (Peter, Louise, and Uncle Norman himself), they might or might not had solved the science side of that problem within the duration of lunch break. Mary Jane got it all recorded for her school paper because it was just that awesome.

 

After lunch was done, Uncle Norman excused himself so he could go back to work.

 

“Oh, and Peter”, he stopped on his track and turned. “By this point, I think it’s safe to assume that you will be, as the saying goes, healthy as a horse. But in case you’re experiencing anything weird or unusual, please don’t hesitate to tell me, alright?”

 

Peter mulled over his words, but when their tour resumed, they were all gone from the forefront of his mind.

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

The day after the field trip, he woke up lying down on the _ceiling_.

 

When Uncle Norman said ‘weird’, Peter didn’t know that he meant the usual kind of weird or _this_ kind of weird. Peter knew he sometimes sleepwalked which was ridiculous in and of itself, but this was like the next level of ridiculous. And not to mention _physically_ impossible.

 

Fortunately, a few seconds later, he plopped back to his bed with a very unmanly yelp—yet, the shock remained. After all, it wasn’t every day he woke up to unnatural occurrence. Maybe it was something parapsychological. Maybe it was a gravitational anomaly.

 

“You seriously need to stop somersaulting out of your bed before you knock whatever’s left of your brain out of your head”, Erica’s head poked through the gap from the door. Peter didn’t even heard the door opening and shrieked.

 

“Do I look like I’m out of my bed already”, he threw his hands up. God, his heart couldn’t handle this many surprises.

 

Erica gave a tiny shrug before disappearing. Peter could hear her racing to the bathroom. He groaned. _Great_ , now he needed to wait at least ten minutes until she was done doing whatever morning rituals for girls in there. Not that Erica was a perfect example of ‘girly’ girl, _mind you_ , but still… 

 

Resigning to his fate, he decided to add some notes to his field trip papers.

 

Fifteen minutes later, _finally_ his sister emerged from the bathroom. She grinned as he walked past her, grumbling about annoying sister under his breath. As he stripped his PJ’s off and chucked them to the laundry basket, he was contemplating about how he could get his revenge. Maybe he could drink her soda, he thought as he stepped into the shower.

 

It was when he faced the mirror as he was brushing his teeth he realized something was… off. He tried to see what was weird, squinting at his reflection on the mirror. Did he finally grew stubble? Nope, his chin was still smooth as a baby’s butt. His face… well, he liked to think he was pretty handsome under those freckles scattering all over his face.

 

Now wait a minute—

 

His acne was gone.

 

Those red, tiny dots from Hell that had been plaguing his face since the beginning of his puberty were gone. He leaned closer to see if there was one red dot between his freckles, but nope, nada. His face was smooth as a baby’s butt. Huh, that face product had to be working _finally_. Peter had almost resigned to his fate that his face would never be free of them. _QAPLA’!_

 

And then, it hit him.

 

He wasn’t wearing his glasses—his thick-as-a-brick glasses that were required to correct his myopic eyes. Yet, here he was, staring at his own reflection without them and he could almost count each freckle on his face. It seriously creeped him out. He’d been wearing glasses since, what, six? Seven? He couldn’t even remember anymore. Even when Erica switched to contacts a year ago, Peter stayed true to his glasses.

 

After putting on his Science Blue shirt, he walked out of the bathroom, feeling weird from the fact that his sight wasn’t fogged from walking out of the bathroom.

 

It felt like he finally could see the world in all of its glory. No weird spot or scratch clouding his vision, no constant weight hanging off his face. He could see every bump and dent on the wall, every scratch on the wooden floor, every speck of dust floating in the air. He would be grinning if he wasn’t so creeped out. What happened to him?

 

Uncle Norman probably would know. He did tell Peter that he should tell him if something weird happened. But then, it was Saturday and Uncle Norman just did a science marathon… thing. Would he be awake? It was still quite early in the morning. Maybe he should call Harry first. He left his phone in his room; maybe he should get it.

 

Peter tried to open the door to his room and failed. Huh, the hinges had to be stuck again. Sometimes it happened when he forgot to oil the hinges and he’d been planning to oil it. It was just… between school work and the excitement for the school field trip, he might or might forget to do it. He probably should’ve called Uncle Ben because there was no way a walking stick like him possessed a brute force required to open the door. Yet, here he was, being stubborn as a mule. He thought, maybe if he pushed by using his whole body just hard enough, he could open it.

 

He certainly didn’t expect the door to rip out of its hinges at the first push. It fell to the floor with an ear-shattering crash, followed by his own surprised shriek.

 

“Peter?” Peter could hear his uncle’s voice. He was currently too dazed to move from his lying down position on the top of what used to be his door.

 

“I—I don’t know how—” he coughed out splinters. Uncle Ben was standing at the doorway, looking just as baffled as himself. Aunt May peeked from behind his shoulders.

 

“It’s… alright, Pete”, Uncle Ben said as he helped Peter to stand up. “You okay?”

 

Peter nodded as he straightened up, then watching asUncle Ben checked the door frame. Peter noticed that even the hinges were ripped clean off its frame.

 

“Huh, must be the termites, those darn creatures”, he could hear Uncle Ben murmuring.

 

“I’m sorry, Uncle Ben. I’ll help you fix it”, Peter said.

 

“That’s good enough for me”, Uncle Ben laughed as he picked up the door and leaned it on the wall.

 

“Did you want to get something from your room, Peter? Because I won’t allow you to enter with those splinters. You might stab your foot”, Aunt May sounded concerned.

 

“Eh…” Peter didn’t know what to answer. Why did he wanted to enter his room again? Oh, yes. To call Harry. But, before he could reply, she already got the vacuum on and Peter fled downstairs before she could shoo him off.

 

When he entered the kitchen, he was greeted by the smell of chicken cream soup wafting from a pan over the stove. Peter grabbed a bowl and a spoon, then began ladling. The soup was thick and rich, with cut broccoli and mushroom swimming along with the chicken. It made Peter’s mouth to water. He dropped a right amount of hard bread on the top and grabbed a spoon from the drawer, then twirled to the dining table.

 

Uncle Ben had his laptop open on the dining table, working on the _Parker And Parker’s Patisserie_ ’s accounting work while distractedly sipping his coffee. Peter decided not to disturb him even more—he already did when he somehow broke his door. Erica was nowhere to be seen.

 

“Where’s Ric?” Peter asked when Aunt May entered the kitchen.

 

“She’s going out with Mary Jane”, she replied. Oh.

 

He ate his breakfast slowly, scratching his temple a few times as he munched the bread. It still felt weird without his glasses, and other people would be too. Myopia didn’t just go overnight without any treatment or surgery. That would be… freaky. Maybe he should wear non-prescription glasses just so people wouldn’t start asking.

 

After breakfast, he rushed up to his room to grab his glasses and tried to wear it. It hurt his eyes so much and he couldn’t see anything anyway. Gosh, was his eyesight this bad before? He’d never noticed it, that was for sure.

 

He plopped to the bed, his arms spread to both sides. Closing his eyes, his mind started to plan out things he needed to do today: help Uncle Ben fix the door, buy a pair of non-prescription glasses, then go ask Harry if his dad would be available today. With luck, he probably could meet Uncle Norman and get… whatever this was _fixed_.

 

Once Uncle Ben was done with his work, they began fixing Peter’s door. The door itself, thankfully, was made from teak wood that Uncle Ben got thirty years ago and it was highly durable (and maybe he shouldn’t point out to Uncle Ben that termites didn’t usually make nest in teak wood, especially the older ones)—so they could reuse it again. Between the two of them, they fixed the door pretty quickly.

 

That was one problem down. Fortunately, Uncle Ben still didn’t notice that Peter didn’t wear his glasses for the fact that he had to wear a safety goggles to drill holes for the hinges. After that, Peter detached the lenses from his glasses and made a quick exit.

 

“Don’t forget to stop by at the shop”, he heard Aunt May calling from the inside as he grabbed his bike.

 

“Okay, Aunt May”, he shouted back. Then, he biked away.

 

It was probably thirty-something degrees outside, though thankfully snow had stopped falling somewhere in the night. He tied his favorite red handkerchief over his nose and pulled up his hoodie to cover his ears. Unfortunately, he forgot to wear his gloves and he could feel the tips of his fingers starting to go numb.

 

He stopped by Circle K and bought a warm cup of coffee to thaw his fingers out. It felt heavenly in his palms and the steam warmed up his cheeks. When he was done, he was about to throw the cup to the bin, when he found another problem: the cup stuck to his left hand.

 

“Oh come on”, he growled under his breath. Did he somehow get super glue on his hand? Or was it another ‘weird’ thing he supposed to tell Uncle Norman? He peered to see where his hand touched the cup and found no trace of glue.

 

Instead he found out tiny hairs sticking out of his fingers, scattering sparsely on the epidermal ridges. They were fine looking and should be impossible to see, but yet he could see them anyway, thanks to… whatever magic trick his eyes pulling. Whatever they were, Peter knew for once that _humans_ didn’t usually have hair on their finger.

 

Then, very suddenly, the hair disappeared—or more precisely, _retracted_ into his skin.

 

What in the holy—

 

Peter quickly threw the used cup to the bin before it got stuck again where it landed noiselessly. Yep, telling Uncle Norman it was.

 

\--

 

After the misadventure at the Circle K and bought the non-prescription glasses he needed (he had to hold the plastic wrapper carefully with his nails as so it wouldn’t stuck again), Peter finally arrived at the luxurious apartment block where the Osborns lived, feeling relieved as hot air hit his freezing face.

 

Uncle Norman owned three topmost floors of this apartment building, not including the roof which usually was used to host parties and such. The topmost floor was used for Uncle Norman’s private lab, Louise’s personal lab, working rooms, and private library; while the other two floors under it was the living area. As it were, the elevator could only reach the lowest of these floors.

 

Harry Osborn opened the front door. He was Louise’s older brother by two years and a junior at Midtown High. With tall stature and wide shoulders, he was positively bigger than Flash Thompson. He had Uncle Norman’s auburn hair and blue eyes, although his stature came from his mother’s part.

 

“Peter? You didn’t tell you’re coming”, Harry sounded surprised; naturally, since Peter didn’t call first. He sidestepped from the door so Peter could enter. “Dude, it’s like North Pole outside. Why are you even out?”

 

They walked through the foyer where paintings lined the wall. Harry loved to paint—and sometimes, when he felt like it, he framed his paintings and hung them everywhere in the penthouse. They were all depicting natural sceneries like night sky of New York City, mountain and forest where they used to camp when they were little, seashore seen from their beach house…

 

There was also a painting of Uncle Norman and Aunt Emily, Harry and Louise’s mother. She died when Harry was three, so naturally, Peter had never had the chance to know her; but Louise was a near-spitting image of her, with platinum blond hair and shocking blue eyes. In the painting, she had wide shoulders like Harry did and was as tall as Uncle Norman.

 

Speaking of which…

 

“I need to see your dad, actually. I want to ask about…” Peter trailed off. He couldn’t say it was emergency; Harry would worry and probably tell Aunt May, which just wouldn’t do. “… about yesterday’s field trip. There’s something I don’t understand.”

 

“Well, that’s bad because Dad’s not home. He’s working around the clock to finish that project that he’s been practically camping at the Tower”, Harry answered.

 

“Oh…” That… was disappointing. It meant Peter couldn’t disturb him for a while. The case would be different if it was a life-and-death situation, but so far there was no sign of that.

 

Slumping, Peter followed him to an easel situated by the window. It held an unfinished painting of an ocean. There were a few white clouds on the clear blue sky, but the sea was unfinished. Harry took a small brush and continued working on the sea. Not wanting to disturb him, he plopped on the couch and turned on the TV.

 

“I can call him if you want”, Harry looked up from his work.

 

“Nah, it’s not that urgent”, Peter waved his hand, and that was that.

 

He found nothing interesting on the TV and kept looking back to Harry. It was… fascinating to watch Harry painting. Art was never Peter’s favorite subject. Too much imprecision and too little calculation. Yet, Harry seemed capable to do it easily. Harry was biting his tongue as he concentrated, dabbing colors to the canvas; the white paint blended into the blue paint, creating an impression of a sunlight reflecting on the sea, like tiny diamonds sparkling from the distance.

 

Then, Harry was bending down to pick up something, and Peter found he found something else to stare at.

 

Harry was wearing a dark trousers that cupped his butt nicely. It was round and looking just perfect to grab. It looked squishy too, just like other parts of Harry’s body. It wasn’t until Harry straightened up that Peter snapped back to the reality.

 

Did he just ogle Harry’s butt…? No, no. He was _not_ a gay. He found Kat Dennings and Sophie Turner particularly sexy. Not to mention that he found Harry’s sister _cute_.

 

He blushed, trying not to think about Louise with Harry just a few feet away from him. It felt… weird.

 

Speaking of Harry’s sister…

 

“Is Lou not home?” he asked.

 

“Still sleeping, maybe. She was still watching that cartoon about bacteria when I woke up at six. What is it again—Moyasimon?” Harry answered. Peter shrugged. He was not interested with Japanese cartoon—although he probably shouldn’t say ‘cartoon’ in front of her.

 

While Harry was working, Peter flipped the channels until he settled with animal documentary—the safest option, he guessed. Around midday, Louise decided to grace them with her presence. She was wearing pale purple dress with a ribbon at its front and puff sleeves. Her hair was tied in a messy bun on the top of her head. Perhaps it was the dress, or the still-sleepy face, that made her look innocent.

 

She slumped, leaning her head to her brother’s back. Harry was murmuring something to her that made her zombie-walking to the couch where she then flopped in ungraceful heap.

 

“You probably should go back to sleep”, Peter pointed out.

 

She looked surprised as if only realizing his presence.

 

“Fetch me water”, she whined, her voice croaking probably from dehydration. Peter snorted, but stood to get her cold water from the fridge anyway. He placed the glass next to her.

 

“Here you go, Princess.”

 

Louise downed the glass in a few gulps. Peter tried not to stare at her, instead choosing to watch two lionesses working together to maul a gazelle on the screen… but it was hard. Her rosy lips glistened with water—and when she smacked them together, Peter felt his breath caught in his throat. Quickly, he turned away.

 

They might be childhood friends, but Peter was one hundred percent positive that Harry would stab him with a paintbrush if he caught him ogling at his sister _right in front of his eyes_.

 

“I’m hungry!” Louise’s voice pierced right through his morbid imagination of things Harry would do to him. Thankfully, her whiny tone successfully slammed him back to Earth because, yes, she was still the same annoying little girl who loved to boss him around when they were smaller.

 

“There are some leftover dinner on the fridge”, Harry replied, not looking away from his canvas.

 

Louise folded her arms and pouted epically. “I don’t want burrito. I want _ramen_.”

 

“Then make them yourself”, Harry suggested.

 

“I can’t cook. I’ll burn the kitchen down.”

 

“Well, that sounds like a predicament.”

 

Peter looked from Louise, to Harry, then back to Louise again. There was something in her expression and he didn’t think he liked it, not one dangnabbit bit. It was trouble brewing, and knowing his luck, he wouldn’t be able to get away from it.

 

“No, Louise, no”, he sighed, but that might be as well telling him to do it because she hopped up to her feet. 

 

“We’re going out!” she announced.

 

Peter knew he was losing it then.

 

\--

 

In the end, Harry drove them to 52nd street. Louise, sitting on the front seat, pointed out the place that supposed to have the best ramen in the neighborhood and bounced excitedly. In the same time, Peter was folding himself on the back seat and grumbled under his breath the whole car ride.

 

“I’m picking you up at two, alright?” Harry asked after they stepped out of his silver Peugeot 107. He wasn’t happy to leave his painting unfinished, but as they said: what Louise wanted, Louise got.

 

“No way! We’re going to watch movie afterwards”, Louise harrumphed.

 

“No movie, Lou. Aunt May wants me to take shift today”, Peter sighed.

 

“Nu-uh, we’re watching movie and that’s final”, Louise jabbed a finger to Peter’s face. Peter made a protesting noise. Aunt May’s order was law and thus disobeying her could mean death. He wouldn’t want to anger her unnecessarily.

 

“Whatever. Just call me when you want me to pick you up. But if you call me after five, I won’t pick you up because there’s a show I want to watch”, Harry rolled his eyes, cutting him off before he could muster a reply. “Enjoy your ‘date’, you two.”

 

Wait wh—

 

“Date?” Peter blurted out once Harry was gone. “ _Date?!_ ”

 

“Duh, of course it is. You like me, I like you. It’s a date”, Louise tightened her cardigan to ward off the wind. She sent a pointed look at him. “Am I wrong?”

 

Sometimes it was scary just how perceptive she was, but then again, genius. Peter felt his cheeks heating up, despite the chill.

 

“N-no, you’re not wrong…” he mumbled.

 

Louise smiled—that one special smile that he only saw a few times, with dimples showing on her cheeks and playful glint in her eyes—then looped an arm around his own. Feeling her warmth so close to him made his heart beat so fast that he was sure she could hear it.

 

The restaurant was expensive looking (of course) but Peter didn’t feel stingy, so he let it pass. They chose the table by the window so they could look to the street below. It was nice, but as sappy as it sounded, wasn’t as nice as looking at Louise.

 

She was wearing chocolate dress with ruffles around her neck and reddish-brown faux fur cardigan. Her hair was tied to the side with chocolate ribbon. Compared to her, he felt more like a slob in his black hoodie and layered shirts. But then again, he totally didn’t expect her taking him out for a date. He would’ve dressed better had he knew it beforehand.

 

The waiter gave them menu books and left them alone. Peter tried to focus on his own—after all, he wouldn’t want to pick something and trigger his allergies because he didn’t read the ingredients carefully. Getting into ER was so not in his schedule today, not when he had a date.

 

A date, that was what it was. Peter He felt giddy all over when he realized that, yes, he was sitting in this fancy Japanese restaurant with her right in front him. He still couldn’t believe it himself. They were on a date, together. He saw her smiling behind the menu book and he knew that she felt the same with him too. When their eyes met, he felt his breath was knocked away from his lungs.

 

Louise was beautiful. “You look beautiful”, he told her so.

 

She giggled—it was not the obnoxious giggle she usually used when she teased him, but a tiny surprised giggle that he didn’t know she could make—and rolled her eyes in good-natured way. “That is so uncreative, don’t you think? All male protagonists say that when they’re with their love interest, but never explain why she’s beautiful”, she said, but Peter could detect that she was joking.

 

Still, Peter couldn’t help but mumbling ‘sorry’ and ducked his head. “And I’m not feeding to your over inflated ego.”

 

“You sure know how to make a girl feel special”, she shot back.

 

“Nothing but the best for you.”

 

He loved it. He loved the snark monster Louise and their banter. He loved the science nerd Louise and the way her eyes lit up a thousand watt as she talked about molecular biology and gross, cancerous tumors. He loved the spoiled little princess Louise and the way she pouted the world into her bidding. As weird as it sounded, he loved her creative way to insult people and sometimes her morbid threats when it wasn’t aimed at him.

 

He might or might not said it all out loud because there was a faint blush on her cheeks.

 

“That is so sweet…” she told him. “I love you too, you nerd. _Taluhk nash-veh k’diwa_.”

 

“And a nerd calling another nerd nerd”, Peter joked. “ _Jol hwi arhem sahe’lagge_.”

 

“That… doesn’t sound Klingon”, Louise rubbed her chin. Peter shook his head. “Okay, I’m lost. What’s that?”

 

“Romulan”, Peter grinned cheekily. “ _H’levreinnye_.”

 

“That’s not fair!” Louise threw her arms up. “I don’t know what it means. You could be insulting me and I won’t know.”

 

“ _Vaulthil. Stelam_. _Baerhar. Rrhiet._ ”

 

“Now you’re being obnoxious”, Louise glared at him and took out her phone. As her eyes flicking on the screen, undoubtedly scrolling the Romulan dictionary website, Peter bit inside his mouth so he wouldn’t burst out laughing.

 

“Nacelle and warp-capable starship, _really?_ Did you eat the whole Romulan dictionary?” she said finally.

 

“Maybe”, Peter shrugged, still smiling at her.

 

In the end, Peter ordered Hakata Kuro Ramen with Sliced Pork and Bamboo Shoots toppings. Not only because it was the second cheapest on the menu, he also couldn’t find anything on its ingredient list that could trigger his allergies. Louise got herself Zen-Nose Deluxe Ramen and Homemade Pork Dumplings. They fed each other’s food—Peter feeding her his bamboo shoot and Louise feeding him the dumpling, which was just sappy, really. Sadly, Peter couldn’t taste her ramen because it got sesame oil and pollack roe in it which he was allergic to death, _literally_.

 

But it was nice. It felt like a _real_ date. They were holding each other’s hand while they ate and talked about literally anything. Their conversation topic swerved from latest physics journal that they read to the latest movie (Louise was a Warsie too and she was babbling about the newest Star Wars 3D movie) to internet meme.

 

After dessert (Mochi Ice Cream that they ate together), they paid the bill and left the restaurant. It was already dark outside and a quick check on his phone told him that it was six in the evening. That meant they had been talking for at least five hours, all while holding hand. So sappy.

 

“We didn’t get to see anything”, Louise sounded disappointed. While they knew that Harry was not serious in his threat and would probably pick them up if they called, they opted to walk to the apartment block.

 

“We can watch something next time”, Peter assured her. “That is if Aunt May doesn’t kill me first.”

 

“Sorry that you missed your shift”, Louise told him.

 

“Eh, it happened”, Peter shrugged. “ _Que sera-sera?_ ”

 

“Whatever will be, will be”, Louise nodded. “You know, in Vulkansu they have similar phrase. _Kaiidth_ ; what is, is. Sometimes it’s just amazing those people who created conlangs. How could they create something out of nothing.”

 

“Not literally nothing, though. There are basics to grammar and vocabulary and phonology. They used these to create a new language. Using what already exists as template to the new thing. It’s like recycling”, Peter pointed out.

 

And that was how they were talking about constructed languages, especially artistic languages that were created for fictional uses like Quenya, Nadsat, Valyrian, and of course, Rihansu/Romulan, Golic Vulcan, and Klingon. When they finally got to the apartment block, they were still arguing about whether Romulan, which shared the same ancestry with Vulcan, was like German and English—sharing the same root but was eventually evolved as centuries passed. It wasn’t until it started snowing and Louise started shivering, they had to move inside the building for warmth.

 

“You sure you don’t want to stay?” Louise asked as they reached the penthouse level. “You can call Aunt May that you got snowed in.”

 

“Nah, I’ll take the sub. I don’t want to make her angrier”, Peter pointed out. “Hey. Thanks for today, yeah? I… I really enjoy it.”

 

“The feeling is mutual”, Louise smiled.

 

They were silent like that, facing each other and smiling sappily. Then, out of impulse, Peter asked. “Can I kiss you?”

 

Louise blinked, clearly surprised. Peter was about to begin his blustering apologies, when she looked up to him, eyes shining bright and hopeful. “Do you want to?” she asked.

 

“I asked first.”

 

“Then yes, you can kiss me”, she nodded, shy.

 

Gently, Peter touched her chin and tilted her head up slightly to match their height. Then, their lips met. His eyes closed by instinct. Her lips was soft like rose petals, like silk, and Peter thought he could taste her lip gloss that smelled like… like…

 

He tore his lips abruptly. Louise and Erica were using the same brand of lip gloss; Peter knew this because the first gave it as birthday gift to the latter. Conclusion? That was just _gross_. He felt like he was kissing his sister, which in no way he would tell Louise _that_.

 

Maybe he should say something to Louise, to apologize perhaps? It wasn’t like it was her fault that he got weirded out by her choice of makeup. Looking at her, though, she looked just as flabbergasted as him.

 

“You wear my dad’s aftershave? Peter, that is just gross!” she shrieked.

 

Peter fidgeted. Okay, he might or might not think Uncle Norman’s aftershave smelled like _proper adult_ and he might or might not take notice of the brand during one of his stay in the penthouse—and maybe he might or might not use his saving to buy it. What could he say? It _did_ smell nice.

 

“My oops?” he offered weakly. Louise folded her arms and made a noise between annoyed and disgusted. “Hey, you also wear my sister’s lip gloss so I guess it’s not entirely my fault!” _Yep_ , he told her that.

 

“This kiss never happened”, Louise jabbed her finger to his chest.

 

“Whaaaaaat? What kiss?? I don’t understand your meaning”, Peter laughed weakly, playing along with her. “Harry is not going to kill me, is he?”

 

“He won’t kill you for something that never happened”, Louise made a tiny shrug and walked into the penthouse.

 

So, that was that.

 

 


End file.
